Boy forced to remove his trainers by group of thugs during bus station robbery

A boy was forced to remove his trainers by a group of thugs during a bus station robbery in Ashton-under-Lyne. Police were called to the incident on Monday night (April 22) to reports that two teenage boys had been the victims of a robbery by another group of males.

The two young victims, aged 13 and 15, had phones and airpod earphones stolen from them by five other teenagers. One of the victims was told to remove the trainers he was wearing, which were also taken.

The five suspects were later tracked down on a tram by officers, and two large knives and a screwdriver were uncovered. One of the suspects was even wearing the trainers that had been swiped minutes earlier.

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Five people, aged between 14 and 18 were later arrested and the stolen items were found in their possession and returned to the two victims.

One man aged 18, two 17-year-old teenagers and a 15-year-old and 14-year-old boy were arrested on suspicion of robbery. The 14 and 17-year-old boy were also arrested on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon. They remain in custody for questioning.

Superintendent Arif Nawaz, of our Tameside District, said: “Response officers attended the scene and spoke with the victims. They were quickly able to establish that the suspects had boarded a tram bound for Manchester city centre.

“They passed this information onto specialist officers on the transport unit who were able to trace the tram. The offenders tried to flee but were quickly detained by officers from our transport unit - one offender was found hiding in a bush by the attending police dog.

“All the offenders were searched and property belonging to all three victims was found on each of the offenders - one offender was even wearing the victims’ trainers.

“During the searches large knives were found on two of the offenders and a screwdriver on another. Our attending officers also found that the five suspects have committed another robbery whilst on the tram.

“This is a great example of proactive policework from our local response and transport teams. Working together, they were able to remove dangerous weapons from theses offenders who were carrying them on the tram network and returned stolen items to the young victims.”